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Deuteronomy 2:6-8 (JDV)
Deuteronomy 2:6 You may purchase food from them, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink.
Deuteronomy 2:7 You see, Yahveh your God has empowered you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense open country. Yahveh your God has been with you this past forty years, and you have lacked nothing.’
Deuteronomy 2:8 “So we bypassed our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road and from Elath and Ezion-geber. We traveled along the road to the open country of Moab.
resources, not enemies
The Lord didn’t forbid any interaction with the Edomites in Seir. The Israelites were free to do business with them so that their basic needs could be supplied. The Edomites were there as a resource for their journey. They were a gift from God.
We live in an age when it is all too easy to make enemies. We have to learn the the art of doing business with others who are different from us, seeing them as a gift from God, rather than enemies to be conquered. We will have enemies, but we should be careful not to brand everyone who is different than us as enemies.
Lord, thank you for providing resources for our journey.
